Mommy, Me And New Friends

With Daddy out of town and Mommy's good friend in town, it was quite a day. We jumped out of bed and headed to Teddy's for silver dollar pancakes and a greek omlet. You can guess who ordered which, can't you? After a hearty meal and lots of smiling at myself in the mirror and the folks at the table behind me, we headed off for a leisurely walk down Main Street. We saw a man fishing and he caught a real life fish that wiggled and begged to be put back in the water and was sure glad the fisherman agreed. Then we got word that we were going to meet up with Mommy's friend at a bowling birthday party for his niece. Yay!

We then went to the store to find a super cool birthday present and of course I chose artsy stuff. I can't resist my creative streak! After shopping, a killer nap and a wet shower we were off to the bowling alley. It was awesome to see Mr. Kevin and his special friend. I approve! Oh, and did I mention that there was an amazing amount of party (read 'junk') food. And Mommy let me have anything I wanted to keep me quiet while Kaitlyn, the super pretty birthday girl, celebrated with cake and presents.

Here I am gorging on icing. Cake and maybe, just maybe a spoon to follow.

On second thought...
I rather like icing on my face!
After the party I wanted to keep playing with Kaitlyn and her awesome sisters. They totally took me right into their family and I was their fourth sister for the afternoon. Here I am with Uncle Kevin, the party animal!

What an amazing, fun-filled day! Happy Birthday, Kaitlyn!

PIZZA!

Wowsers, what a week. Daddy has been in San Antonio and is headed to his high school reunion in sunny, but not as hot, Orange County, CA. Us girls? We forgot to make some phone calls today, so we grabbed our usual Friday pizza but decided to eat at home. Emily's Mommy was at the same San Antonio meeting, so our routine was already busted up and I heard a rumor that next week's a bust, too. Something about their family vacation in Florida. I'm jealous!

Anywhoo- after a long week just us girls, it's nice to kick back and enjoy our pizza. Mommy took a risk and decided to skip them cutting up my pizza. The result? I loved it and so did Lion. Roar!

My goodness, I really love hamming it up for the camera. If only I could avoid the constipated look.
Is this better?
You're already half gone? Gosh, I sure hope seconds are in my future!
Yummy!

Daddy and Me

Mommy had to run out early this morning so I didn't even get to see her before I headed off to school. So, like a trooper, she made my lunch and got my things ready so Daddy just had to feed me and hose me off before dropping me off at school. I decided to go easy on him. Sort of...



Here's how breakfast went. There was a whole lot of whining in each word I spoke, so put a toddler slant on the transcript below.

Me- Cheerios!

Daddy- Here you go. Cereal, yummy.

Me- No milk in Cheerios.

Daddy- (frustrated- threw the cereal out and gave me a new bowl of Cheerios without milk)

Me- (eat two Cheerios)

Me- I want milk in my Cheerios.

Daddy- Aaaaah!

Ghosts, Cheese And Friends

Starting to think that I'm just posting the same pictures of me and dress up? Nopers. I truly play dress up every day and only like one outfit. The pink satin skirt with no top. Stickers, shoes and accessories optional. That pretty much boils down to I just love the pink skirt!

And playing ghost!
Sometimes at the same time!
And I totally figured out this whole camera thing. I pose, say cheese, run around to see myself on the camera display and declare 'again'. Repeat a few dozen times and you've seen a good glimpse into my life. This one was a 'big cheese'.
And my 'refined cheese'.
Then Mommy and I headed out at 8:30am to meet up at Mercer County park with Kayleigh and Peter. What none of us knew is that the bikers olympic trials were being held on the very same roads we needed to use to get to the park and that the finish line was at the park. I won't bore you the details of insane traffic and testing of patience on a 100 degree day, but suffice to say it took over 1.5 hours to go what should have taken 2o minutes and invovled us hoofing it three miles round trip to the playground.

Here I am, fearless Samantha. Super high up on the playground. Can you even see me?

Thankfully it was a mini- fair with all the vendors and we jumped in the bouncy house and shared funnel cake until we found out that our playmates couldn't get into the park. Regroup and meet at Peter's house!

We got to meet Peter's super cute new sister, Juliet, and had a blast with all his toys. Good friends and fun toys. Life is great!

Here I am with Kayleigh. We're shoppers in training!

After a tasty lunch- thanks Peter's Mommy!- we headed home for a long nap and then the pool. That is until the thunder cramped my style and we hung out inside watching Barney. Things do work out don't they, wink wink!

Pretty Princess

I am totally having a blast playing dress-up. I just love how pretty I am as a princess.

Here I am trying on some really cool rings.

Oh, and my obssession with 'Samantha the friendly ghost'? Here to stay, I'm afraid. Here I am practicing my scary ghost sounds.
And, in true toddler fashion, a minute later I'm back playing dress up. Wands are so cool!
Even better to see you, my pretty!
I sure take dress up seriously. The boxes of Disney princess outfits came complete with high heels and I have been diligently practicing for what seems like forever. I've mastered getting from point A to point B quite well. Only Mommy won't let me wear them and play ghost at the same time. Wonder why?

Twins?

Mommy and I met up with Emily and her Mommy for dinner last night. What a great summer tradition in Mayberry. Pizza (with apple juice!), a nice walk and then ICE CREAM! Seriously, we totally figured out how to weasel an amazing amount of junk food out of the Mommies in the name of girl bonding time. It's awesome!

At ice cream another Mommy saw Emily and me on the bench with ice cream and looked a bit puzzled. Then she said, "are they related?'. Mommies replied in unisom, "nope'. We do look really similar but since we're only four months apart people get confused. We look almost the same, but not the same age, so we can't be twins. Sisters? Just in spirit!

We have a blast running around and playing together. It's true that you can build a lasting friendship over lazy evening dinners.

My First Serious Boyfriend

Mommy popped me in Daddy's car today while he was getting in the driver's seat. I told them I loved them (helps to ensure Barney time in the evening if you catch my logic) and then looked Mommy straight on and said, "Altan". Daddy paid no attention until Mommy translated. Daddy's response was, "Oh, Lord". You see, Altan is my first serious boyfriend. He meets me at school in the wee hours and we play cars, rockets, color and make each other laugh. We're not in the same class, but every morning until 9am, we're two peas in a pod. Oh, and our Mommies approve. Does life get any better? I think not!

Silly Faces

I surprised Mommy today with silly faces for the camera. She didn't know I knew how to be this silly, but I do!

I've also memorized almost every book in my personal library. So, I help Mommy and Daddy read all my fun books. They read the super boring words and I round out the sentences. Sure it takes a bit longer to read stories, but I 'cockadoodledoo' way better than they do when reading 'Barnyard Dance'.

I'm having a blast with family reading/bonding time. We cuddle up in bed with lots of pillows and blankets and no less than five books. We read them all, jump on the bed, tickle, row row and have a blast. Family is great!

Pool Time!

Daddy's work buddies invited the work group and families over for an amazing play date on Saturday afternoon. The hostess had an amazing pool, which I spent two hours romping around on different floaty toys and the greatest food ever. I totally ate tons of COLORED goldfish (a first for me!) and chips and juice. You'd think it was my birthday all over again!

Oh, and did I mention the super cute doggie? I am totally obsessed with furry friends. Too bad they are too schedule oriented and Daddy travels too much or I'm sure I'd come home one day to find a special friend just for me. Until then, I'm content petting every doggie I can find.

Emily was there and we teamed up as only we can do. Check out this awesome picture of us on the push toy. We make a great pair, don't we? We took turns pushing each other and knocking each other over with our over enthusiasm playing together.

And the video, too!

Then we moved inside for a little game of grabby. What's that? It's our favorite game to play when we both want the same toy. Thankfully, we're pretty evenly matched and we end up taking turns on our own.

Sadly, I had a meltdown around 7:30pm and we had to break up the festivities before everyone else was ready to stop partying. This early bedtime just stinks! We headed home and Mommy and I pooped out. Well, that it until I puked my poor belly out until it begged for mercy. You see, I love the pool so much that I end up staying in the water way too long and drink too much pool water every time I dunk, which is all the time. So, I end up getting sick after going to the pool. It pretty much stinks the big one. Mommy and Daddy had to give me a bath at 12am and then we sat on the couch eating crackers and watching Barney until we were all sure I was safe enough to head back to my crib.

We spent the rest of Sunday resting around the house. And I had wanted to go to the pool again. Bummer on over protective parents!

PS- a HUGE thank you to Emily's parents for remembering their camera and sending us these lovely pictures and great video.

Slip Slidin' Inside

Trying to make the most of our eat in kitchen while it's missing furniture. I decided a little sliding around was just perfect.

First you need a blanket that is all spread out.
Then you stand tall and prepare to leap.
Hooray!

Touring Princeton

After an amazing birthday, we all headed out to Princeton for a nice walk on a beautiful day. Mommy stopped for bagels so I could have a snack. I think this bench is perfect for a quick snack and cuddle with Daddy, don'tcha think?

Two!

So the big day has finally come. Daddy and Mommy have been working with me for the last few days. "Samantha, how old are you?", "Samantha, are you going to have a birthday party?". After much practice, I can answer with 90% accuracy.

Grandma Carol and Grandpa Frank came up to party with me. Yay!

After a glorious nap, it was time to put on my birthday girl shirt. I drew the line at a birthday girl bib. Seriously, what was Mommy thinking?

It looked like it was going to rain all afternoon, but I had a chat with Mother Nature. She realized that I only turn two once and parted the clouds for a great blast of sunshine. My great friends, Katie, Emily and Connor arrived and the party kicked off with a great time outside.

Here I am at the snack table. I moved my chair over to compensate for a tall table and my short legs.

Emily found the watering can and helped our garden grow.
And I got my fill of Triscuits. Yummy!
Oh, did you notice that I now pose for the camera and say 'cheese'?
Here I am on my swing. It sure is hard sharing. It's a lesson I keep trying to master every playdate. I hope to check off the sharing box before college.
I'm so cute! And modest!
Here Connor, Emily and I are playing as we normally do- independently. Although Emily did ask me to play with her a few times.
I decided to play with her when we started racing the stroller and shopping cart around the house. Check out my kickin' cowgirl hat, courtesy of Grandma Joanie and Grandpa Cal. I sure look good in pink, don't I?
Katie drew some really great pictures and looks great in the top hat. She broke from drawing for a moment to judge our racing. I think she let me win since it was my birthday and all.

Then we had a great dinner of pizza for us kiddos and hot dogs, hamburgers and chicken for the adults. We had Bent Spoon cupcakes and everyone sang 'happy birthday' to me. That was the one freak out of the day. How would you feel with lots of people staring at you while they sing to you? So what if I was just in a bib and diaper, staring is scary!

Katie had to leave after dinner and I got a bit sleepy so I wandered into the family room for Barney. Emily and Connor couldn't resist. We love the big purple dinosaur!
After our rest we played Elefun. Turns out I'm a Mommy-mini me and am in it to win it. I will do just about anything to win games. Watch out!

Thanks for an amazing birthday! Two is going to be amazing!

Family Time

Today was a super special day, I got to stay home today and hang out with my Aunt Nancy, Uncle Scott and cousin Alex. They came all the way from Indiana to meet me. I feel super special! We had lots and lots of fun running around the house, playing with toys and going on a great walk in downtown Mayberry.

Then we came home and surprise! it was present time. How thoughtful of them to remember my second birthday is just around the corner. But first, I charm you with my presence.

Aunt Nancy was super impressed by how happy a toddler can be with life.
Ah, having fun is so tiring. Gotta rest for a moment.
Wowsers. Presents! This is the first time I get what presents are and that they can be for me!
And presents come with cards. How do you open envelopes? Tricky suckers.
And the men amused at how simple life is for toddlers.
Super cool- jewlery for dress up! I think bracelets look best on my leg. Don'tcha think?
The elusive family shot when a toddler is involved.
Not so hard. See? I'm even smiling at the camera!
But not this time!
I sure had a blast with this amazing family visit. Hope to see you again really soon!

Patriotic Samanatha!

July 4th was great at our house. So great, in fact, that we totally forgot to take pictures to share with you.

So, here we have an extended weekend of patriotism. I bring you "Samantha, the pantless patriotic toddler".

Daddy came home with a sprinkler thinking that I'd love it to help beat the heat. Turns out I'm a bit afraid of this weird thing that only gets me a little wet and then moves away to another part of the lawn. Pools are so much more trustworthy.

I spent much time trying to figure this contraption out. I must confess I'm not sure I have yet.

But I sure look cute, don't I? Can't tell?
Here's my close-up! Buddha belly and all, if you notice the stripes bulging a bit.
Mommies say buddha bellies are in for toddlers these days.